The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

 Wii U
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2573 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,021 out of 2573
  2. Mixed: 222 out of 2573
  3. Negative: 330 out of 2573
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  1. Joeyburger1985
    Jul 25, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this game is **** and stupid and bad itt sucks dont play this game!!!! DONT PLAY IT !!!!… Expand
  2. SamaelsBook
    Jun 8, 2023
    5
    Kass' Theme 10/10. I now associate this game only with this song, it's beuautiful, just it. Best way to play with PC emulator.
    1/10 AAA graphics
    3/10 voice active characters
    2/10 story
    $49.00? WHAT?!
  3. jbz281
    May 10, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Don't feel like a Zelda, giant world but felt repetitive quickly, The sad part is this Game changed the Zelda formula forever.… Expand
  4. rezo_21
    Dec 22, 2022
    7
    ====================IIIIIIIIII GAME SCORE : 68 IIIIIIIIII====================
  5. Hyperfailure
    Dec 11, 2022
    6
    
  6. CoolBR
    Jul 8, 2022
    7
    It is a good game, I can see the amount of effort that the developers put into this game.

    The only thing I didn't like was the story. I've felt a lack of a good story, it is just too generic about saving a kingdom, also I despise mute protagonists. Maybe I didn't like the story because I didn't play the older Zelda games, but I still think that the story is generic anyways and I    It is a good game, I can see the amount of effort that the developers put into this game.

    The only thing I didn't like was the story. I've felt a lack of a good story, it is just too generic about saving a kingdom, also I despise mute protagonists. Maybe I didn't like the story because I didn't play the older Zelda games, but I still think that the story is generic anyways and I appreciate a good depth story in the games I play.

    The gameplay is the best part of the game, the combat is awesome. The base is a "Souls Style of Combat" but it has some peculiarities that make it even more interesting. The weapons you use always will break there is nothing you can do to stop them to break so you need to change the weapons and each weapon has a different type of attack and some have special moves like light beams, that really incentive the player to try out different weapons and I really liked. It is cool you don't need to upgrade your weapon to use it, so you can pick up any weapon from the ground and you are ready to use it immediately.

    Another peculiarity is how intuitive is the combat, pretty much everything you think works out like you can make things fall over the enemies to kill them, you can throw them on the water, you can use stealth. It is really fun.

    The puzzles and the exploration are good, nothing at Mario Odyssey puzzles level but it is still better than the average puzzles you see in the games industry.    … Expand
  7. Balor
    Jul 4, 2022
    7
    По началу очень интересно но ближе к концу гемплей душит, отлично провел первые 50 часов, но как то изучение мира мне показалось пустой тратой времени
  8. vilefox
    Jul 12, 2021
    7
    Great Wii U game / kids game... not a great game in general. The cooking mechanic is extremely tedious, the soundtrack sounds like an 11 year old playing piano (not one of the prodigies...). Fighting is decent although pretty repetitive. The puzzles are too easy, and combat is too easy since you can pause and eat in the middle of a fight. Definitely feels like an kids game (which I believeGreat Wii U game / kids game... not a great game in general. The cooking mechanic is extremely tedious, the soundtrack sounds like an 11 year old playing piano (not one of the prodigies...). Fighting is decent although pretty repetitive. The puzzles are too easy, and combat is too easy since you can pause and eat in the middle of a fight. Definitely feels like an kids game (which I believe it is) not sure why so many adults like it. Maybe I just lack the required nostalgia goggles.… Expand
  9. poolpy11
    Jul 6, 2021
    7
    Won't go into much details but I'll say this:

    This game is overrated. Some fragments and details that I did not like. Graphics and music is good.
  10. sarisa
    May 26, 2020
    7
    I'm shocked. How can you give 10/10 for a game that was intended to utilize gamepad, but eventually wasn't? For that very reason 9/10 is max whatever this game may be worth. They shown this feature in 2014 demo so it has clearly been disabled making this game "worse" on purpose. If it had utilized gamepad than what note would you give? 11/10 as it would be even more superb?... Just don'tI'm shocked. How can you give 10/10 for a game that was intended to utilize gamepad, but eventually wasn't? For that very reason 9/10 is max whatever this game may be worth. They shown this feature in 2014 demo so it has clearly been disabled making this game "worse" on purpose. If it had utilized gamepad than what note would you give? 11/10 as it would be even more superb?... Just don't get fooled by these fanboys. This is good and proper game (not that very good) but poor Zelda game. Remember The Legend of Zelda Link to the Past? Now imagine this in 3D, but without dungeons (!!!). Thats exactly what this game is. Overworld walking simulator without dungeons or any intricate stuff. Good walking simulator, but just walking simulator. 7/10 is max honest note for this game.… Expand
  11. Stopdumbingdown
    Jan 7, 2020
    5
    wow
    unbelievable
    this game is without doubt my new most OVERRATED game of all-time no progression too easy with manufactured early “difficulty” that isnt hard at all meaningless story worthless npc’s horribly boring “open world” poorly implemented degradation system laughably short enemy type list its a game that epitomizes mediocrity, yet, is praised due to it being a    wow
    unbelievable

    this game is without doubt my new most OVERRATED game of all-time

    no progression
    too easy with manufactured early “difficulty” that isnt hard at all
    meaningless story
    worthless npc’s
    horribly boring “open world”
    poorly implemented degradation system
    laughably short enemy type list

    its a game that epitomizes mediocrity, yet, is praised due to it being a zelda game

    it can easily be proven to be a perfectly mediocre game from a factual standpoint as video games have easily identifiable characteristics that can be objectively critiqued

    subjectivity is certainly an aspect of SPECIFIC conclusions of a review, but, reviews can easily be separated from such subjective components

    for example: “fun” is completely subjective (lol, some review sites actually think thats the most important)

    this game can be proven to not even be a top5 zelda game

    breath of the wild now holds the trophy for “mile wide, inch deep”

    fwiw: my initial review got censored    … Expand
  12. Xplocion
    Nov 8, 2019
    5
    The good: another "Zelda" with a mature cut. An "like a Nintendo" approach to the open mute. The functions of the remote-tablet to interact with objects and to move things even to put certain platforms. You see the items and the map on the tablet-controller

    The bad: it took 6 years to leave, just waiting for the launch of Nintendo Switch. There are no temples. There are no cities. Few    The good: another "Zelda" with a mature cut. An "like a Nintendo" approach to the open mute. The functions of the remote-tablet to interact with objects and to move things even to put certain platforms. You see the items and the map on the tablet-controller

    The bad: it took 6 years to leave, just waiting for the launch of Nintendo Switch. There are no temples. There are no cities. Few NPC to interact. It takes a long time to boot. The open world looks empty (on certain occasions). The story is silly. The hero mode came in a DLC. There is no variety of enemies. There is no variety of bosses, always facing the shadow of Ganon and the Guardians. The graphics are very bad on Wii U, not seen even remotely close to how it was presented or as seen in trailers.

    Lo Meh: that of looking for seeds on the map to receive an item troll breaks your morale. The hyper-sexual Princess Zelda. The last major release of the Nintendo Wii U. Nintendo is not sorry for letting the Wii U die without taking out games all delaying them to take them out with its new console the Nintendo Switch    … Expand
  13. robomartion
    Oct 21, 2019
    7
    An open world game where you can explore to your hearts content, crafting food and climbing mountains, surfing down those mountains and then climbing trees, with a few caveats. Those caveats are that the world is mostly empty, enemies are mostly identical, the shrines are high in number and visually identical, stamina and weapon durability are problematic and the towers are out of place,An open world game where you can explore to your hearts content, crafting food and climbing mountains, surfing down those mountains and then climbing trees, with a few caveats. Those caveats are that the world is mostly empty, enemies are mostly identical, the shrines are high in number and visually identical, stamina and weapon durability are problematic and the towers are out of place, as is Link's tablet and it's limited functionality although offering some unique gameplay opportunities. Gone is the epic and intriguing story line from previous Zeldas, the colourful cast of characters and the sprawling and ingenious dungeons with their clever and distinctive bosses, the plethora of deep side quests, the excitement as you open a chest, as well as Link's ever-expanding armoury of tools, gadgets and items that bring with them a feeling of progression as you become more able and powerful. Breath of the Wild is a great game, but it fails to meet the standard of being a great Zelda game. The starting area offers a good hour of fun - a microcosm if you will of what the game is at large, and the extent of the gameplay, which in and of itself is serviceable - as you get to grips with the combat, crafting, climbing and varied abilities of the tablet (magnet, bomb, freeze, and stop time) after which it's probably time to put down and move on.… Expand
  14. tremault
    May 21, 2019
    5
    This game is badly badly flawed, in so many ways. It just falls apart the more I play it and makes me feel worse and worse.

    I have given this game a number of chances. I think this is the third time I have stopped playing and I can't see any hope for it. First time I came upon some of the surface flaws. Weapons breaking. This is the number 1 flaw in this game. I really don't care what    This game is badly badly flawed, in so many ways. It just falls apart the more I play it and makes me feel worse and worse.

    I have given this game a number of chances. I think this is the third time I have stopped playing and I can't see any hope for it. First time I came upon some of the surface flaws. Weapons breaking. This is the number 1 flaw in this game. I really don't care what their theory was for why this was a good idea, it plainly was not. It discouraged me from going anywhere or doing anything. every time I saw a monster or a tree or anything that required a weapon, I avoided it. what is the point in using your weapons when the trade-off is just not worth it. it's not a sensible risk. you would have to be an idiot to attack a group of enemies in this game, because you come out worse than you went in. for the most part when playing this first time, I avoided most encounters, I avoided exploring and I only ever used the worst weapon I had in my inventory at any time. because why would i want to break the best weapon I have? I might need it later. The whole system is just ridiculous. If I could repair them , then it might have made it better, but as it happens, it just discourages you from actually playing the game. I played this until I had defeated the first beast, in zora domain. at this point I felt like the story, the quests, everything was too disjointed to make it worthwhile playing with this weapon breaking dynamic. I was in Akkala and I realised the only way to get any fun out of the game was to be free to explore. so I quit.

    Second time I played it, was after getting latest CEMU and the unbreakable weapon mod. This made a big difference. I finally felt free to actually play the game. I knew there was a carpenter in Akkala somewhere do I decided to explore with that as my basis. it felt like the only interesting thing that I had in my mind from my previous playthrough. So I spent a long time exploring that place. found some korok seeds, completed some shrines, smashed some rocks, picked up some plants, etc. I was just enjoying the game for 'what it is'. I played this way for about a week. I found the carpenter, and found the workshop. Carpenter just gave me some fetch quests, and the workshop was a tiny bit of story but nothing really major. It was at this point I realised that there wasn't really much in this game other than collecting things. the shrines are boring and dull. just a bunch of mini puzzles. I can get that from any indie game on steam. I don't do that because I don't like dull repetitive puzzles. I don't see any point in just collecting stuff. I certainly don't feel any kind of reward from the damn koroks. So it was here that I realised I was wasting my time. I was going to quit, but I noticed there was DLC available.

    Third chance I gave this game. the DLC. I learnt I could get a thing for my horse so that I could teleport and actually bring my horse with me. that makes a big difference. so I went on that quest to do that. not a great quest to be honest. it involved looking for a bunch of places with very vague and obscure clues. for something that is supposed to help you to actually explore, the designers thought it made sense for you to have already explored everywhere. so it's an actual pointless item, that is only really available to the players who no longer need it. I heard about other things in this game that do the same thing. oh well, I went on the quest. what was it. a couple of treasure chests stuck in the ground. not flair at all. so that was disappointing. There is so much more wrong at this point I started to get angry. if it's raining, you can't see, so you have to wait, but you can't 'wait' because you can't make a fire in the rain. even under a shelter. There is so much more bad stuff, and no good stuff. no reward, no story development. The game is just terrible. This is like skyrim without the quest lines or interesting stories.    … Expand
  15. SheepSlayer
    Jun 16, 2018
    7
    While the combat is tight, the world feels empty, the wii u is not made for the game and drops down to insanely low FPS. I played it for 60 hours and after that I felt done, both dlcs I felt were not worth the price point and damage on swords and other items might be the worst Zelda mechanic ever. The story was boring. BOTW is an ok+ open world game, but a terrible Zelda game. If you wantWhile the combat is tight, the world feels empty, the wii u is not made for the game and drops down to insanely low FPS. I played it for 60 hours and after that I felt done, both dlcs I felt were not worth the price point and damage on swords and other items might be the worst Zelda mechanic ever. The story was boring. BOTW is an ok+ open world game, but a terrible Zelda game. If you want a good Zelda game, go play tp hd, ww hd, oot 3d, mm 3d or even skyward sword. if you want a awesome open world game go play the Witcher 3, that world feels alive.… Expand
  16. jeanphilt
    Dec 28, 2017
    6
    I tried this game quickly and I really don't understand people saying that the graphics are beautiful. First, you can play in 1080p since over 10 years on PS3 and the WiiU is still at 720p (900p for the Switch). With the PS4 Pro you can even reach 4k. So, according to today's standards, this does not look good. I mean, there are some games that looks relatively good on the WiiU like SuperI tried this game quickly and I really don't understand people saying that the graphics are beautiful. First, you can play in 1080p since over 10 years on PS3 and the WiiU is still at 720p (900p for the Switch). With the PS4 Pro you can even reach 4k. So, according to today's standards, this does not look good. I mean, there are some games that looks relatively good on the WiiU like Super Mario Maker and Mario Kart 8 but Zelda looks so washed + draw distance, fogginess, and texture looks pretty bad. Let's compare it to another open world game released 2 years ago and we are far away from Witcher 3 ... just go see Uncharted 4 and it looks like Botw was released 20 years ago.… Expand
  17. CyberRobotnix
    Dec 19, 2017
    5
    What did this game do wrong? The following things precisely:

    • Exploration feels unrewarding as all you find are Koroks and sometimes Shrines • The Shrines themselves are too easy and basic and all look the same • The story is disappointing as all the interesting events happened 100 years ago • No traditional dungeons • The dungeons which the game does have are too short and    What did this game do wrong? The following things precisely:

    • Exploration feels unrewarding as all you find are Koroks and sometimes Shrines

    • The Shrines themselves are too easy and basic and all look the same

    • The story is disappointing as all the interesting events happened 100 years ago

    • No traditional dungeons

    • The dungeons which the game does have are too short and easy

    • Overworld music is boring

    • Sidequests for the most part are underdeveloped and give crappy rewards

    • Durability is a terrible system and devalues any weapon you get

    • Everything destroys you at the beginning of the game, but at the end, you’re extremely overpowered and the entire game becomes a joke

    • Ganon is just a mindless monster that for some reason doesn’t talk; the boss fight against him is also way too easy

    • Horses are completely useless

    • Despite what the story implies, there is literally no sense of urgency to defeat Ganon

    • Enemy variety is absolutely terrible

    • Some costumes and weapons are locked behind amiibo

    I don’t see why it has so many 10/10 reviews.    … Expand
  18. liamjason
    Sep 13, 2017
    6
    One of the most overrated games I've played in my 30+ years of gaming, which includes every Zelda title up through Majora's Mask. Controls, graphics, story, and fun factor lose their appeal quickly and I can't help wonder why the Wii U version did not make good use of the Gamepad. Maybe the game is better on Switch (less framerate issues I hear on that platform), but as the only true newOne of the most overrated games I've played in my 30+ years of gaming, which includes every Zelda title up through Majora's Mask. Controls, graphics, story, and fun factor lose their appeal quickly and I can't help wonder why the Wii U version did not make good use of the Gamepad. Maybe the game is better on Switch (less framerate issues I hear on that platform), but as the only true new Zelda game on the Wii U platform, I expected much more. I don't know why you would want to play this game over Horizon Zero Dawn or Persona 5 other than for brief nostalgia.… Expand
  19. mtlvmpr
    Jul 30, 2017
    7
    Finally completed and I must say that this was the most 7/10 game I've ever played. Going to keep this spoiler-free

    It took me a while to get hooked to the world of Link who can easily scale mountains but struggles to sprint from shop to shop. Abilities spiced it up along with easy cooking and fun traveling methods (Those sand seals were the best). But the way horses were handled was    Finally completed and I must say that this was the most 7/10 game I've ever played. Going to keep this spoiler-free

    It took me a while to get hooked to the world of Link who can easily scale mountains but struggles to sprint from shop to shop. Abilities spiced it up along with easy cooking and fun traveling methods (Those sand seals were the best). But the way horses were handled was just bizarre as you can only call your horse if it's close enough (Realistic I guess?) but you could still get the very same horse you left to 100km away if you happened to be at one of the stables (It's like 2 different people created these mechanics).

    Combat felt a bit airy every now and then but with that also a way more flexible with instant weapon switching and dedicated bow button (Infinite bombs are cool too). Boss fights also felt great (Counting out 1).

    Infinite bombs, unbreakable armor and teleporting to any shrine/tower aside the weapon durability system was terrible along with the lengthy ability cooldowns.

    Those were all things that mattered to me. Never take in just one review and call it a buy.

    PS. Curse those towers. I hope they disappear from gaming as soon as possible.

    [Only spoiler-like thing here about the ending (Probably not really ruining nor spoiling anything)]
    I didn't like the ending because I felt like it didn't offer any closure.    … Expand
  20. tetohmu
    Jul 25, 2017
    7
    My cons with Zelda Breath of the Wild after 200 hours.
    ---> the story is bad,, nothing is epic, the sandbox takes all the space.
    ---> We don't care about the NPCs, not even their names like we used to in previous Zelda games. You can skip them and if you come back later to them they give you outdated news like "oh, there is a Shrine above Kakariko" (oh really?). They are not even in    My cons with Zelda Breath of the Wild after 200 hours.
    ---> the story is bad,, nothing is epic, the sandbox takes all the space.
    ---> We don't care about the NPCs, not even their names like we used to in previous Zelda games. You can skip them and if you come back later to them they give you outdated news like "oh, there is a Shrine above Kakariko" (oh really?). They are not even in danger, they are not miserable, the 4 divinities are not dangerous, they should be used to them now, they have been corrupted for 100 years! 100 years!! 1 or 2 generations and yet they still complain about them!!. Those NPCs have no background: Hyrule has been destroyed recently and no one talks about that! They don't even know Link the knight of Zelda! Again, the story sucks, not even plausible. Miyamoto said he didn't care about the story. You see the result. How can you feel a Heros, there are nothing to save, no Ganon if you don't go and meet him. Zelda is more than 100 years old like her horse. Ok.
    IMO, Link should have been 10 000 years old, woke up naked in a forest, with no memory and he would have made his own destiny from here.
    Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask are way better in term of story/pace/emotion.
    ---> You can't go fishing, like on a lake, with a boat. You don't meet an old sea dog who would tell you about a monster in the lake. NO, here everybody can see dragons flying in the air every day. Everything is fine. All the more those dragons just belongs to the farming system of the game. Woohoo!
    ---> No undergrounds, no caverns to explore. The only dark area sucks (bird statue temple to get another shrine)
    ---> You can't dive with the Zora outfit.
    ---> Infinite bombs. Bad idea.
    ---> Uninteresting side quests even if there were a few good ideas.
    ---> a lot of food for nothing. You always make the same easy and efficient recipes. There are not even a book in your inventory to remember them.
    ---> make a fire and change time is mainly useless. It could have brought a survival system (sleep/eat).
    ---> 900 korok seeds. I understand why but, there were better to do. More complex conundrums with bigger secrets, not trinkets behind a breakable wall (...)
    ---> few enemies, they all look the same like their camps.
    ---> there were farmers outside villages in the first presentation of the game.
    ---> No obstacle linked to enemies, or any events. Camps protect nothing, Lynels protect nothing. They are just idiot monsters doing nothing. And why can you climb everything in the first place. The game give you everything, all the powers. The endurance jauge is not a real issue.
    ---> That's why you leave your horse so often, climbing is better. Climbing should have been given later.
    ---> no hidden Temple, protected by magic like the two sphinx statues in "The Never ending Story" for instance, no "Great River of Wilderlands" with giant statues like in "Lord of the rings". Everything is open, dammit!
    ---> Bosses suck. Ganon is a shame. His second form is pathetic. A awful rip-off of Nago in Princess Mononoke.
    ---> 4 forgettable & easy dungeons.
    ---> Shrines may last 1 minute or 10? 20 of them are trials of power. 20! Too much.
    ---> Kakariko village famous tune is gone. No graveyard, no link with previous Zelda games unless the name of the regions (by the way, the ruins of Lon Lon Ranch are recent, it makes no sense again).

    Not a bad game of course, exploring the world is great, sure Nintendo worked hard on the engine. but it could have been way better. Zelda is not epic anymore since Wind Waker. I hope it will be a good basis for the next one. At least it is way better than Twilight Princess & Skyward Sword.    … Expand
  21. AlmightyJu
    Jul 14, 2017
    5
    The world of Breath of the wild is as vast as the ocean, it's truly huge but sadly about as deep as a puddle. Granted I've only played around 10-15 hours and I won't be picking it up again, it doesn't take long to realise that despite the size of the world the only things you find are shrines, korok seeds or mobs with a chest that will have some item you can manage without if you want. IThe world of Breath of the wild is as vast as the ocean, it's truly huge but sadly about as deep as a puddle. Granted I've only played around 10-15 hours and I won't be picking it up again, it doesn't take long to realise that despite the size of the world the only things you find are shrines, korok seeds or mobs with a chest that will have some item you can manage without if you want. I simply skipped almost every fight since there is nothing to be gained from them.

    The biggest problem I found is that there's little point to doing anything other than the shrines, why kill those mobs over there? to get some arrows or a weapon etc which I will find something better of in a shrine most likely. Why look for korok seeds to increase my inventory when I'm already holding weapons that I'm just going to throw at something?

    The world itself I found really detailed and beautiful to look at but that's as far as I cared about it. Comparing it to something like Skyrim BotW is lacking, Skyrim has a massive world where talking to npc's can give you quests that take you into whole other worlds and can lead to some really interesting story or lore, investigating a statue would lead to dealing with a god and being rewarded or punished in some way. BotW however rewards you with little to nothing for your efforts, the story I class as nearly non existent, npc's may point you in the right direction, or hint at some shrine nearby etc but it's all the same thing over and over, I'm sure I could look up online all the shrine locations and just grind them to get the hearts and then do the divine beasts and ganon and I wouldn't loose any of the experience it would simply be easier. When I was playing Skyrim and looking up guides I still really enjoyed the adventure, BotW lacks that.

    So to summarise the world is nice to look at and theres' collectables to be found (bugs, plants etc) but ultimately gives no good reason to want to explore it once you've seen the basics.
    Little to no story, lifeless repetition labelled as "exploring" and puzzles hardly worth thinking about, a solid mediocre 5.    … Expand
  22. jerkbot10000
    May 28, 2017
    5
    I'm certainly in the minority here, but I found this game very tedious and boring. This game does not at all represent what I look for in a Zelda game. It is upsetting that the game is getting such good reviews since it means the Zelda formula I so enjoy is likely gone forever. Below are the details on what I'm talking about:

    Dungeons - Previous Zelda games had intricate dungeons.    I'm certainly in the minority here, but I found this game very tedious and boring. This game does not at all represent what I look for in a Zelda game. It is upsetting that the game is getting such good reviews since it means the Zelda formula I so enjoy is likely gone forever. Below are the details on what I'm talking about:

    Dungeons - Previous Zelda games had intricate dungeons. This game has for the most part traded them in for shrines. Though there are many more shrines than there have been dungeons in any Zelda game, the shrines tend to have very simplistic puzzles. Most can be finished in about 2 minutes and require very little thought. A few of these shrines involve combat, but it is always against the same boring enemy. A few of these shrines require solving a puzzle to find in the first place, and a number of those, the puzzle is basically to wait until the right time of day, then perform a menial task like shooting an arrow. For me, a game that is making me stand around and wait for something to happen is restricting my freedom and inflicting boredom.

    Exploration - For most people exploration is the big selling point, and it's true that there is a vast world to explore. Unfortunately I find that there are only a few different types of things to find, so it feels very repetitive. I always enjoyed the fact that in previous Zelda games you would notice areas you couldn't get to until you had the right item, and the excitement of returning once the item was found. This game doesn't really stop you from going anywhere once the initial couple of hours are done, and the few skills added after don't really offer anything that changes the gameplay as previous Zelda's did. Again I'm in the minority and obviously people love the fact they can do whatever they want...but to me it goes against one of my favourite things about Zelda games.

    Combat - Due to weapon durability, I was inclined to skip combat. It was boring and repetitive. There are a few bosses to fight but they don't require any thinking/ingenuity or special item usage like previous bosses.

    Very little traditional Zelda music - this speaks for itself.

    Conversations and cut scenes - More tedium. Most conversations take too long. I shouldn't have to wait for text to catch up with my reading speed, or wait for cheesy character animations or horrible voice acting.

    Climbing and Movement - This was incredibly tedious! So much of the game revolves around climbing, and the climbing is soooo slow! Not only that but you can easily spend a couple minutes climbing and then run out of endurance to reach the top... what a waste of time. The same applies to swimming - if you can't make it to shore it is game over. Walking/running speed is very slow too, but at least you don't get game over from it. You can upgrade stamina, which improves things a bit, but it is still very tedious. The worst feature of the game is the rain. Climbing is required all the time, and if it rains you can't climb... forcing you to switch gears and do something else, or just wait 10 minutes for the rain to stop.

    Lightning - When there's a lightning storm, you have to remove all your metal gear. Some people would label this as 'attention to detail', and maybe it is... but it doesn't change the fact that this is a super annoying gameplay mechanic. Like rain, this game is full of these kinds of annoying things that prevent you from doing what you want to do.

    Overall, this is my least favourite Zelda for the reasons stated. I really hope Nintendo does continue down this road for future Zelda games. Unfortunately they are really losing me as a fan... hopefully they don't ruin Metroid in the same way.    … Expand
  23. AndreWahl
    May 19, 2017
    7
    After beating The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild I must say I am a bit disappointed. I enjoyed the world and the dynamic gameplay and problem solving involved, but to me the game felt scattered, unconnected, and incomplete. If you don’t have a switch yet I can promise you, you are not missing much other than hype. Over all I would give the game 3/5.
    In terms story, I felt it fell    After beating The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild I must say I am a bit disappointed. I enjoyed the world and the dynamic gameplay and problem solving involved, but to me the game felt scattered, unconnected, and incomplete. If you don’t have a switch yet I can promise you, you are not missing much other than hype. Over all I would give the game 3/5.
    In terms story, I felt it fell short in regards of what I expect from a Zelda game. The story passed the buildup and placed you directly into the conflict, but the conflict didn’t seem like much of a conflict. Outside of the dark castle at the center of the map, the occasional blood moon, and the random goblins scattered about, the world seemed at piece. There was no great turmoil in the towns. The divine beasts were mostly a nuisance, not a threat. There was no sense of urgency for Gannon to be stopped.
    The open world aided to the feel of a lack of urgency. It was great getting to explore a massive open world, but with the vastness of the space I felt were not many memorable areas. Most of the game was identical looking. Green hills, brown dirt, rocks, lots of grass, trees. Very few locations stood out. The lack of a memorable soundtrack greatly aided in this. My biggest disappointment was the soundtrack because, well, there wasn’t one. One of the most memorable aspects of the Zelda franchise. Throughout the game there is only a handful of soundtracks, the most memorable being the cooking one.
    In addition to this, there was no real progress. Free the divine beast in no particular order, do every shrine you see, fight Gannon. It was mostly a check list. In addition, gear progression was the same. I never got attached to any weapon I found because it would just break. I used twigs and skeleton arms for most of the game. The gear didn’t feel all that special. I farmed the ancient soldier gear only to find that the barbarian gear from the labyrinth shrines was better, which was also a disappointment.
    The additional quests were also lackluster. They had an MMO style feel to them and most of the quest I completed had rewards of little worth, or you spent more in terms of time, food, equipment, and arrows completing the quest than you were rewarded. In addition, the quest felt like they had no impact on the world, did not aid in progression, and were essentially put in the game to make it feel more like an RPG.
    The Art direction of the game also had some issues. Whereas it was unique and beautiful, the highly saturation colors provided little contrast. This made it hard to see in many situations where sight was crucial. I adapted to it after some time, but the game could defiantly use more contrast.
    For those not trained in art, this may not make much sense, but when you look at an image it has something called a tonal range. This maps the value of color according to its relative lightness and darkness compared against black and white. An image with a realistic tonal range should have value all the way across, ranging from deep blacks to bright whites in highlights. A low contrast lacks both of these, and bunches them in the middle. After taking various screen shots from the game I confirmed this was the case by placing them in Photoshop and looking at their tonal range. A vast majority had no dark or light points, just mid tones.
    Over all the game is good. It is worth playing to experience the excitement and fun an open world RPG brings, but for those expecting a rich world filled with excitement, adventure, and amazing story telling you will walk away shot handed. This is their 1st open world game of this caliber, and they were successful in their endeavor, but I just hope they manage to incorporate a bit more of the magic of the Zelda universe into the game next time.    … Expand
  24. vegemonsta
    May 12, 2017
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Be careful not to buy into the hype on this one. While the world is mostly beautiful and the gameplay is fresh for the franchise, it's not "the best game of all time." There are plenty of games prior to BotW which deserve higher praise.

    As an open world game, it falls for many of the trappings one would expect from it. The map is wrought with towers to reveal hidden areas and there are plenty of repetitive tasks to do.

    The world is vibrant and full of interesting locals and NPCs to help build up a believable Hyrule. This is the games strongest aspect. Unfortunately all of the locations are the same as usual. You have the forest, desert, ocean and volcano zones. Nothing surprising there.

    The combat is great, but not as great as Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, though. Every enemy encounter feels like a challenge. The game isn't well balanced, though. Some enemies in the game are too powerful. This is especially evident at the end where you get hit once by a low level enemy and lose most of your hearts. This results in you being forced to open the menu and use a healing item... every single time you are hit. Let's not mention the stupid weapon durability system.

    Another annoyance is the over abundance of the SAME enemies in ALL areas of the game. Most Zelda games pride themselves on interesting enemy designs that fit to their dedicated zones. NOT in this one. From beginning to end you're fighting pig men, lizard men and robots. Even the bosses are the same creature every encounter.

    The dungeons, if you want to call them dungeons, are interesting little puzzles that are executed neatly. That's all I can say about them. The lack of real dungeons is a serious omission.

    The open ended nature of this game is both its greatest element and its weakest. For example, Hyrule castle is presented as an enormous challenge. To get through the gate, one must defeat an onslaught of tough enemies JUST to get a chance at fighting Ganon. There's one way around this... if you take what you learned from the game (which is to avoid difficult situations completely) then you can easily climb a pillar behind the castle and glide directly to Ganon's chamber. This mechanic is game breaking in many situations like this. Instead of forcing the player to take the plunge, it just gives you the tools to ignore it entirely for the easy way out. This is not good game design. It's intentions are to give the player freedom, but there's a TOO much freedom here.    … Expand
  25. Grimmke
    Apr 23, 2017
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My feelings on this game are terribly mixed.
    Good: a truly excellent open world, beautifully designed, artistically gorgeous, endlessly explorable. It brings fresh life to the now-standard idea of an open world. The new Link is full of personality for a guy who never really talks. NPCs are charming, quirky, and often funny, and exhausting their dialogue options is always worthwhile. Kass and Paya are personal favorites. The physics engine was incredible! One thing they really did right was in all the little details. There are plenty of joyous surprises for those who want to experiment and explore. So let me repeat--this is an excellent game, and it's worth you time. A superlative game, compared to others on the market. It is not, however, without flaws, even quite serious flaws.

    Bad: The enemy variety is uninspired. A handful of enemies that are repeated endlessly, with different skins and colors. Unlike previous Zelda games, you won't find any redeads, wallmasters, poes, or any unexpectedly terrifying monsters like Dead Hand from OOT. No scary enemies or creepy dungeons where you might hear the telltale shriek of a redead paralyzing you.

    Hand in hand with that is the boss variety. Unlike previous Zelda games, there aren't new and exciting, visually impressive bosses that challenge you to use the skills and tools at your disposal. You fight the same boss 4 times, and then again as the end-game boss. Over and over, with slightly different elemental powers. The final boss looks like it's trying to pass for a monster in Yharnam--but if I wanted to fight Yharnam monsters, I'd be playing Bloodborne, not Zelda. It's nothing like Ganon. It doesn't have the crushing difficulty to match a Bloodborne enemy anyway.

    Combat quickly becomes lackluster with the frustrating weapon durability mechanic. Rather than encouraging variety, it encourages you to use your worst weapons the whole time for fear of losing your good ones, or the ones with elemental powers that you need for special enemies. The master sword's "energy limit" is some serious garbage too. A breakable master sword? Really? In the end, the durability mechanics turned the MS from the Blade of Evil's Bane to the Blade of Chopping Down Trees Because I Don't Want to Waste My Other Blades.

    The story is often charming and could have been great, if they had put more focus on developing a compelling story. But, like the music, it's so downplayed it's barely noticeable, so that when the occasional familiar Zelda element slides in, it feels weirdly out of place.

    The music is not very memorable, and nothing like the sweeping epics of its predecessors. Once in a while, a familiar tune will play, and in the final castle, it finally comes in full-force. But it feels like a fun musical Zelda reference in a non-Zelda game. Jarring.

    Dungeon variety is woefully nonexistent. Arguably the most impactful element of the franchise's incredible legacy, sprawling, complex, rich, and sometimes nerve-wracking dungeons are part of what made the series so famous. They're iconic. But they're totally excised this time. You have shrines, 120 samey mini-dungeons with repetitive puzzles. And you have divine beasts, 4 samey, slightly larger mini-dungeons. There's no variety to them at all, nothing to make them even visually distinct and interesting. Even exploring the beautiful open world begins to lose its appeal when you realize that the only rewards you will find are shrines and korok seeds.

    I could go on. But it boils down to this one sad, strange feeling. There's a difference between shaking up convention and straightforward iconoclasm. And this game falls too hard toward the latter. Utterly gutting the series icons gave us a breathlessly beautiful product, with nothing under the surface, least of all a Zelda game. Maybe it sounds trivial, but I find that Link's redesign is not only one of the worst offenses, but emblematic of the underlying problem. They took Link's iconic green outfit with his pointy hat away, reportedly because it doesn't "look cool." Sure, in isolation, there's nothing especially cool-looking about the green tunic. But it DOES look cool--because it looks like Link, from the Legend of Zelda, and Link is cool. He makes it look heroic. There are lots of cool-looking video game characters out there, but there's only one who looks like Link. The attitude among the devs that said Link isn't cool-looking enough is the same attitude that said Ganon needed to look like a Soulsborne villain. It's the same attitude that took away deep dungeons, exciting bosses, creative enemy designs, and cool weapon variety. It never felt like I was playing Zelda. As an open-world RPG with a barely passable Zelda skin, it was neat. But it soured so fast I was feeling heartbroken by halfway through the game. It's sad to see the devs disregarding the legacy of such an important series. In the end, what makes Zelda so special was gone, and that, for me, outweighed the joys.    … Expand
  26. Boros
    Apr 19, 2017
    7
    En Español, In English too, at the end:

    El juego es bueno, no hay duda, pero como siempre, las notas de la prensa inflada a golpe de talonario. No es necesario que os compréis la Switch por este juego, no merece, ni de lejos, en mi opinión, lo que cuesta. Os cuento que yo he jugado a la versión Wii U durante 5 horas, y podéis decir que es poco tiempo para hacer una crítica, pero la    En Español, In English too, at the end:

    El juego es bueno, no hay duda, pero como siempre, las notas de la prensa inflada a golpe de talonario. No es necesario que os compréis la Switch por este juego, no merece, ni de lejos, en mi opinión, lo que cuesta. Os cuento que yo he jugado a la versión Wii U durante 5 horas, y podéis decir que es poco tiempo para hacer una crítica, pero la verdad es que es el tiempo que he tardado en hartarme del juego. Aparte del apartado gráfico (bonito pero básico) y los fallos, hay cuatro cosas que no soporté del juego:

    1. la primera su dificultad; a mi me gusta ponerme los juegos en difícil o muy difícil y este juego me pareció super sencillo. La única vez que morí fue por agotamiento en una charca y que me quedaba poca vida por saltar de sitios altos, etc. Eso de poder pausar el juego y comerse cualquier cosa para subir vida, es un modo dios en toda regla, mientras tengas comida, no te matarán los enemigos. Solo hice dos mazmorras y los "puzles" que había en ella, si se pueden llamar puzles a eso que era más fácil que pegarle a una piedra con un palo, puede que se pongan más díficiles al final, pero viendo las del principio, no tengo esperanzas de que los puzles supongan un reto de habilidad real.

    2. La segunda, su mundo está vacío!!!! Solo hay hierbas, unas cuantas ruinas desperdigadas y nada más. Vi a un Jabalí al inicio del juego y tras 5 horas no he visto nada más, ni un misero pájaro ni nada, ¿de donde sacan los Bokoblin la carne? De animales no por que no hay, solo hay Bokoblin, ruinas y hojas. El mundo de Hyrule está muerto, no tiene vida, y desconozco si tenía clima (lluvia, tormentas, etc.) pero me da que el clima lo indicaba la zona y era siempre el mismo. Me daba siempre la sensación de sitio vacío.

    3. Las armas y su sistema de rotura. Esto ya puede ser variante de una persona a otra. El sistema de armas y que se te rompan siempre hagas lo que hagas (pensé que se podían reparar pero no) a mi no me ha gustado, ya que implica dos cosas, primero que yo no puedo usar siempre el arma que me guste porque se me romperá, y segundo es que es seguro que tendrás que ir recolectando armas como si fueran meros objetos de usar y tirar, por lo que estoy convencido de que conseguir armas en este juego no es difícil, seguramente llegas a un sitio nuevo y te las encuentras en cualquier lado sin esfuerzo. Tampoco me gusto el sistema de la tableta esa que te dan al principio, que es una llave para abrir cosas.... vamos a ver si te dan la llave para entrar a todas las cosas al principio del juego obligado... ¿para que demonios la cierran? Que las dejen abiertas y que no necesite ese pase raro, o que se necesite de habilidades especiales para entrar en las dungeon como en otros zeldas.

    4. El Hype y la critica del juego. Espera un juegazo que me hiciera ver las estrellas y que dijera que bomba de juego, ojo el juego no es malo, pero esperaba muchísimo más, no un Sandbox de apartado técnico cutrillo, con una historia que ni fu ni fa, con un mundo sin vida y con un sistema tan fácil de mientras recolectes y lleves toda la mochila llena de comida y armas (que las encuentras sin esfuerzos y a patadas por el mundo) eres Dios y no morirás, aderezado por unas dungeon y puzles que hasta para niños sería fácil.

    Para dejarlo claro, estaba jugando al Ocarina of Time y al Windwaker y los deje parados para ponerme con este... Prefiero los otros dos sin dudas, al igual que también prefiero en Skyward Sword. Me falta jugar al Majora Mask y al Between Worlds. Eso si no es el peor de la franquicia, mi lista sería:

    1 - Ocarina of Time
    2- Skyward Sword
    3- Wind Waker
    4- Breath of Wild
    5- Spirit Track
    (?)Majora Mask
    (?) Between Worlds

    Abstract:

    A Sandbox of Zelda is very easy. The world is dead, no animals, no clima, all is empty. Tecnichally poor but beatiful (but poor). With food and weapons (you can find easily in any place on Hyrule) you are God mode, and you cant die. Very easy game. The Story... regular.

    Good game, yeah, good, no perfect or the best in the world.... o no, only good. My list of game of zelda, in order I prefer, is:

    1 - Ocarina of Time
    2- Skyward Sword
    3- Wind Waker
    4- Breath of Wild
    5- Spirit Track
    (?)Majora Mask (I dont play it but i will)
    (?) Between Worlds (I dont play it but i will)    … Expand
  27. NintendoFan39
    Apr 8, 2017
    7
    The game has beautiful graphics with a great story. I really like all the stuff you can do. What I don't like is all the rain and ambushes. Every time I try to climb something it rains and I'm trying to climb something it rains and I fall down. The ambushing happens when I'm trying to sneak kill an enemy camp and skeletons or bats attack me and I get attacked by like 10 things at once. TheThe game has beautiful graphics with a great story. I really like all the stuff you can do. What I don't like is all the rain and ambushes. Every time I try to climb something it rains and I'm trying to climb something it rains and I fall down. The ambushing happens when I'm trying to sneak kill an enemy camp and skeletons or bats attack me and I get attacked by like 10 things at once. The game also has fps drops when fighting enemies and bosses. 7.8/10 too much water… Expand
  28. Zamasu
    Apr 8, 2017
    7
    PROS:
    - It's great that Breath of the Wild took a different direction from the previous Zelda games by giving the player more freedom in terms of where they want to explore which plays well with the huge open world.
    - I liked the art style - Horse riding felt more realistic. - Many side quests - Environments are diverse - Many different weapons and armor sets CONS: - Seeing the    PROS:
    - It's great that Breath of the Wild took a different direction from the previous Zelda games by giving the player more freedom in terms of where they want to explore which plays well with the huge open world.
    - I liked the art style
    - Horse riding felt more realistic.
    - Many side quests
    - Environments are diverse
    - Many different weapons and armor sets
    CONS:
    - Seeing the size of the world, there wasn't much in it. The towns are fine (Hateno and Kakariko), but there wasn't much to do in Zora's Domain and Rito Village felt bland.
    - The 4 dungeons in the game and their bosses look exactly the same with some minor differences.
    - Weapon's break too quickly. I don't mind weapon durability, but most of my weapons seem to break in a few swings.
    - Shrines get very tiring after completing 40 - 60 of them.
    - Only 5-6 types of enemies/ mobs
    - The only reason this game is hard is because enemies can one shot you.
    - Music is not as good as the previous Zelda games.

    Overall this game is enjoying, but I feel like this game lacks in quality of content.    … Expand
  29. kiddy2345
    Apr 1, 2017
    5
    This game excell in gameplay, and graphics and the idea that you are not force to do the story and that you have so much to do is good. Howerver, I can't said it the best game and is far from perfect. First, The story is pretty bland and average at best, People said it has the best story but that not entirely true. The story relies too much on the flashback and the voice acting isThis game excell in gameplay, and graphics and the idea that you are not force to do the story and that you have so much to do is good. Howerver, I can't said it the best game and is far from perfect. First, The story is pretty bland and average at best, People said it has the best story but that not entirely true. The story relies too much on the flashback and the voice acting is considerable but no the best I heard. The story follow the same trama of the other previous Zelda games but this time, link died and was revivied thousands of years later, to once again defeat Ganon and save Zelda. At least Zelda Is containing Ganon. But it follows the stereotype heroes story that have been senn before and the subtances of the story is not that deep. The dungueons felt as if is an excuse to lose more time in the game and most of them were easy to solves. The soundtrack was not the best I heard, I said nier have better soundtrack than this game but still was good to hear but some soundtrack didn't make up the atmosphere especially the boss battle. The last boss battle was easily the most disapointing thing in this game. Just hit arrow in the circle area and that it .So much build up for the last boss battle just to be defeated so easily. Yay! Link the hereo save the day and help zelda defeat Ganon. Why Everytime the boss battle Have to be ganon diferents incarnation? I would prefer change a New villain than this one. Maybe for most people this is the best game of all time, But as for me it is not.… Expand
  30. BabyRants
    Mar 31, 2017
    6
    "Legend of Zelda Breath of the wild is... disappointing at best. For one, you can only have one save file. What the hell? As far as I know, this is the only Legend of Zelda game without multiple save files. Two, the FPS seems to be fine on the Wii U. The Switch on the other hand, experiences horrendous FPS drops. Three, weapons break so easy. The game tells you when your weapon is damaged"Legend of Zelda Breath of the wild is... disappointing at best. For one, you can only have one save file. What the hell? As far as I know, this is the only Legend of Zelda game without multiple save files. Two, the FPS seems to be fine on the Wii U. The Switch on the other hand, experiences horrendous FPS drops. Three, weapons break so easy. The game tells you when your weapon is damaged (which happens quickly), but Four, YOU CAN'T EVEN REPAIR THEM. So why the hell does it tell you they are damaged? To save it's last hit? Five, the "dungeons" seem like they were designed for 7 year olds. They are pathetically obvious. Barely puzzles. Six, just like playing Hyrule Warriors feels like you're playing a clone of Dynasty Warriors, playing Breath of the Wild feels like you are playing a clone of Monster Hunter Ultimate. Seven, Rain and Blood Moons. I understand that the rain is for the immersivity, and the Blood Moon is to give a challenge, but when it rains you can't climb a damn thing, which you kind of need to climb a lot in the game, and if a blood moon shows up have fun trying to get anywhere. Eight, the ragdoll physics feature would be cool if every time you hit a enemy they didn't fly 5 damn feet away from you. I could go on and on, but I'm just going to stop here. I know they wanted to make the game more challenging, but all they did was make a lot of the game's features annoying. The game would be good if it wasn't an annoying laggy mess.

    TL,DR Version: If you're going to buy it, buy the Wii U version. The Switch version is lag fest. And also if you're going to buy it, be prepared to get very annoyed having all your new weapons break in under 2 minutes of use, and a lot, lot and I mean LOT of traveling in a straight line to very far away objective points on a map too big for it's own good." -Quail, My good friend.
    6/10.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Wii U Game of 2017
1
#1 Most Discussed Wii U Game of 2017
1
#1 Most Shared Wii U Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Video Chums
    Apr 10, 2017
    91
    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an absolute joy to play as it's an undeniably rewarding adventure set in a deeply immersive world. Although the experience is weighed down by a few minor problems, the overall journey is one that no gamer will soon forget.
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  2. AusGamers
    Mar 28, 2017
    92
    Breath of the Wild can’t be compared to the likes of The Witcher 3 or Skyrim because it’s not trying to be those games -- it’s a Nintendo game -- and series -- all grown up. It has a lot to offer and will keep you engaged for lengthy periods of time. If you’re playing on Switch as you absolutely should be, then you can also Zelda wherever you go. It’s arguably not the best Zelda game, but damn, it might be the most polished, and the most ambitious.
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  3. DarkStation
    Mar 20, 2017
    100
    Does it have the best combat system in the world? No. Is it the best looking game out there? No. Does it have the best RPG soundtrack ever? No. Can the game make you feel like you are eight years old again? Hell yes. It certainly had that effect with me. It has been a long time since exploring, fighting, and adventuring has so consistently brought a smile to my face. Breath of the Wild is such a wonderful experience that once you play it, you will likely never look at open world games the same again.
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